COLONIAL EDUCATION FOR BOYS AND GIRLS
The primary education of upper class children in colonial days included reading, writing, simple
math, poems, and prayers. Paper and textbooks were scarce so boys and girls recited their lessons
until they memorized them. The three most commonly used books were the Bible, a primer, and a
hornbook. As children grew older their schooling prepared them for their eventual roles in plantation
life. While boys studied more advanced, academic subjects, the girls learned to assume the duties of
the mistress of a plantation. Education was provided for white students only and was privately
taught.
The sons of a planter typically would be taught the basics at
home. The boys’ school day started around 7 a.m. in the school
room with their male tutor. They had several breaks during the
day. Around 9 a.m. they had breakfast, and dinner was served
from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. The boys studied higher math, Greek,
Latin, science, celestial navigation (navigating ships by the
stars), geography, history, fencing, social etiquette, and
plantation management. At this point, the sons of wealthy
planters often were sent to boarding schools in England for a
higher education. They sometimes stayed over in England to
study law or medicine. Otherwise, they would return home to
help their fathers run the plantation.
The school days for girls were somewhat different. Girls
learned enough reading, writing, and arithmetic to read their
Bibles and be able to record household expenses. They were
taught by a governess, who was usually from England and
somewhat educated. They studied art, music, French, social
etiquette, needlework, spinning, weaving, cooking, and nursing.
The girls did not have the opportunity to go to England for
higher education because this was not considered important for
them.
Source: Stratford Hall | Teacher Resources: Colonial Education
THE DAME SCHOOL
The Dame School was what we might call today an informal day
care center. This type of private school was run by an educated
woman, a "dame", and was similar in nature to an advanced
'kindergarten'. It involved parents leaving their children with a
neighborhood lady (a "dame," as such ladies were then called) who
would teach the children their letters (abc's), numbers, and prayers
while she went about her daily household tasks. Young boys and
girls attended a dame school for a few pennies a week to learn the
fundamentals of reading, spelling, and the Bible.
MASSACHUSETTS EDUCATION LAWS OF 1642 AND 1647
The first brick on the road to compulsory education in America was laid by the Massachusetts Act of
1642. It should be known, however, that education in itself was not first and foremost in the minds of
our founding fathers. They came here in order
to escape the religious oppression that they
were facing in Britain and what they brought
with them to America was a desire to create a
society where they could exercise their
religious freedom and build a nation where
their religious aspirations would not be stifled.
The concept of education came into existence
more out of necessity than anything else. The
masses had to be educated in order to be able
to understand the written codes that the
colonies were now living under, both religious
and secular, and without some sort of
education this idea would be impossible. The
response to this was, once again, the
Massachusetts Law of 1642.
The Law of 1642 required that parents and master see to it that their children knew the principles of
religion and the capital laws of the commonwealth.
Perhaps the most important aspect of the Law of 1642 was that it was a law that had nothing to do
with "school" at all. It stated that parents and masters of those children who had been apprenticed to
them were responsible for their basic education and literacy. All children, and servants as well, should
be able to demonstrate competency in reading and writing as outlined by the governing officials …
The law did state, however, that should the above mentioned parents and masters grow lax in their
responsibility and their children not be able to meet basic criteria it would be the government's right to
remove the child from the home and place him or her in a place where he or she could receive
adequate instruction.
The Law of 1647, also known as the Old Deluder Satan Act, was born out of this above-mentioned
parental negligence. It was at this point in our nation's educational history that formal schooling as we
know it became more desirable.
The Law of 1647 required that towns of fifty families hire a schoolmaster who would teach children to
read and write. Towns of a hundred families must have a grammar schoolmaster who could prepare
children to attend Harvard College.
Education became more of a social responsibility as teachers were formally hired for the sole purpose
of teaching the nation's young people. Perhaps even more surprising in the light of previous practice
is that they were paid to do so, either by the government or individual parents and guardians. School
was becoming more of a priority.
We see that it was during this period in Massachusetts that religious concerns (e.g., learning to read
in order to read the Bible) laid the groundwork for modern education. Although it was a response to
an ecclesiastical quest in the new world, it was adequately catalyzed and necessity eventually turned
itself into education being conceptually pursued in and of itself in America. The early immigrants were
paving the way toward a better educational system, one brick at a time.
EARLY NATIONAL EDUCATION
Even in Williamsburg, Pennsylvania in 1774, there were still
few schools.
Many parents taught their children to read and write at home
using a bible and a hornbook. A hornbook was a wooden board
with a handle. A lesson sheet of the ABCs in small and capital
letters, some series of syllables and often, the Lord's Prayer,
was attached to the board and was protected by a thin layer of
cow's horn. Some hornbooks of wealthy families were very
fancy, decorated with jewels and leather and included ivory
pointers. Most of them were plain and had a string around the
handle to be worn around the neck.
People who wrote the early primers and readers used
pictures of animals learning to read and write to show that
reading and writing were natural and fairly easy processes! By
the 1750s, literacy rates (percentage of people who could
basically read and write) were the highest in the New England
colonies, at about 75% for males and 65% for females. The
literacy rates, however, were lower in the Middle and Southern
colonies.
Children wrote using a quill dipped in ink, which sometimes blotted on the page, so they
sprinkled on pounce. Pounce is a powder-like sand that helps “set” the ink on the page. Most
children wrote in a copybook because paper was so expensive. Wealthy children had a tutor (always
a man) teach them privately. Boys could go to grammar school and sometimes even college but
never girls.
Girls were given lessons on how to run a home. It wasn't even
expected for girls to spend any of their time reading! Instead
their mothers taught them how to cook, sew, preserve food,
direct servants and serve an elegant meal. Some girls were
sent to teachers to learn how to sing, play a musical instrument,
sew fancy stitchery, to serve tea properly by learning manners
and how to carry on a polite conversation. When boys grew
older, they could become apprentices to learning to become
shopkeepers or craftsmen by working with and watching an
adult. Education was becoming more secular in order to
produce socially responsible citizens.
INFLUENTIAL EDUCATIONAL LEADERS
Horace Mann (1796-1859)
Horace Mann, often called the Father of the Common School, began his
career as a lawyer and legislator. When he was elected to act as Secretary
of the newly-created Massachusetts Board of Education in 1837, he used his
position to enact major educational reform. He spearheaded the Common
School Movement, ensuring that every child could receive a basic education
funded by local taxes. His influence soon spread beyond Massachusetts as
more states took up the idea of universal schooling.
Mann's commitment to the Common School sprang from his belief that political stability and social
harmony depended on education: a basic level of literacy and the inculcation of common public ideals. He
declared, "Without undervaluing any other human agency, it may be safely affirmed that the Common
School...may become the most effective and benignant of all forces of civilization." Mann believed that
public schooling was central to good citizenship, democratic participation and societal well-being. He
observed, "A republican form of government, without intelligence in the people, must be, on a vast scale,
what a mad-house, without superintendent or keepers, would be on a small one." The democratic and
republican principals that propelled Mann's vision of the Common School have colored our assumptions
about public schooling ever since.
Mann was influential in the development of teacher training schools and the earliest attempts to
professionalize teaching. He was not the first to propose state-sponsored teacher training institutes
(James Carter had recommended them in the 1820s), but, in 1838, he was crucial to the actual
establishment of the first Normal Schools in Massachusetts. Mann knew that the quality of rural schools
had to be raised, and that teaching was the key to that improvement. He also recognized that the corps of
teachers for the new Common Schools were most likely to be women, and he argued forcefully (if, by
contemporary standards, sometimes insultingly) for the recruitment of women into the ranks of teachers,
often through the Normal Schools. These developments were all part of Mann's driving determination to
create a system of effective, secular, universal education in the United States.
(http://www.pbs.org/onlyateacher/horace.html)
John Dewey (1859—1952)
John Dewey was the most significant educational thinker of his era and, many
would argue, of the 20th century. As a philosopher, social reformer and
educator, he changed fundamental approaches to teaching and learning. His
ideas about education sprang from a philosophy of pragmatism and were
central to the Progressive Movement in schooling. In light of his importance, it
is ironic that many of his theories have been relatively poorly understood and
haphazardly applied over the past hundred years.
Dewey's concept of education put a premium on meaningful activity in learning
and participation in classroom democracy. Unlike earlier models of teaching,
which relied on authoritarianism and rote learning, progressive education
asserted that students must be invested in what they were learning. Dewey
argued that curriculum should be relevant to students' lives. He saw learning
by doing and development of practical life skills as crucial to children's education. Some critics assumed
that, under Dewey's system, students would fail to acquire basic academic skills and knowledge. Others
believed that classroom order and the teacher's authority would disappear.
(http://www.pbs.org/onlyateacher/john.html)
MINORITY AND FEMALE EDUCATION
African Free Schools
African Free Schools opened in New York in 1787. These schools became the primary means
of education for New York African Americans for almost 50 years. In the South, most slaves were not
permitted to gain an education. During Reconstruction, schools opened for newly freed African
Americans, but segregation led to limited resources an unequal educational opportunities.
The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) was founded in
1909 to aid African Americans in obtaining opportunities, civil rights, and political, educational, social
and economic equality.
Most schools in the South were segregated (separated by race) due to laws and society. In
1954, the court case, Brown v Board of Education declared that separate but equal was not equal
and began the process of desegregation in schools. Integration of schools in the Southern states
was a difficult process.
Native American Education
Early on, the formal education of Native Americans was left up to missionaries, most notably
within the Choctaw, Cherokee, and Chickasaw tribes. The aim of these institutions was to "deindianize" the children and begin the road towards assimilation into European-American society. The
missionaries worked primarily to inculcate Christian religion and morals in the students, which was
also viewed as a necessary step in the assimilation process. Native Americans were taught reading,
writing, arithmetic, religion, and English.
In 1924, the Bureau of Indian Affairs controlled education until the 1970s. After this,
Reservation Schools became community-run under the local Department of Education. Native
Americans have the highest drop-put rate at 39%. In 1998, the Integrity Task Force was formed to
research the problems associated with the drop-out rate.
Hispanic American Education
Hispanics attended religious mission schools and secular public schools. In 1965,
the Elementary and Secondary Act was passed by Congress to help disadvantaged children achieve
higher standards in education. This provided new educational support for the Hispanic
community. Bilingual education programs were added to many schools. However, the Act was
denounced in California and Arizona, where Hispanics were the fastest growing segment of the
population.
Female Education
Until recently, women have largely been excluded from the educational system. It may
surprise you to know that while Harvard opened in 1636, the first college to admit women did not do
so for another 200 years. Women did not begin attending college in equal numbers to men until as
recently as 1980. Education is something that women today often take for granted and they do not
think about all of the hard work it took to attain the right to education. In the past, women with little
education often believed that they were not capable of things like participating in politics, having a
career or even owning property.
(https://www.nwhm.org/html/exhibits/education/introduction.html
http://www.chesapeake.edu/Library/EDU_101/eduhist_earlynat.asp
http://www.chesapeake.edu/Library/EDU_101/eduhist_20thC.asp)
Two great leaders of the black community in the late 19th and 20th century
were W.E.B. Du Bois and Booker T. Washington. However, they sharply
disagreed on strategies for black social and economic progress. Their
opposing philosophies can be found in much of today's discussions over
how to end class and racial injustice, what is the role of black leadership,
and what do the 'haves' owe the 'have-nots' in the black community.
Booker T. Washington, educator, reformer and the most influential black
leader of his time (1856-1915) preached a philosophy of self-help, racial
solidarity and accommodation. He urged blacks to accept discrimination for
the time being and concentrate on elevating themselves through hard work
and material prosperity. He believed in education in the crafts, industrial
and farming skills and the cultivation of the virtues of patience, enterprise
and thrift. This, he said, would win the respect of whites and lead to African
Americans being fully accepted as citizens and integrated into all strata of
society.
W.E.B. Du Bois, a towering black intellectual, scholar and political thinker (1868-1963) said no-Washington's strategy would serve only to perpetuate white oppression. Du Bois advocated political
action and a civil rights agenda (he helped found the NAACP). In addition, he argued that social
change could be accomplished by developing the small group of college-educated blacks he called
"the Talented Tenth:"
"The Negro Race, like all races, is going to be saved by its
exceptional men. The problem of education then, among Negroes,
must first of all deal with the "Talented Tenth." It is the problem of
developing the best of this race that they may guide the Mass away
from the contamination and death of the worst."
At the time, the Washington/Du Bois dispute polarized African American
leaders into two wings--the 'conservative' supporters of Washington and his
'radical' critics. The Du Bois philosophy of agitation and protest for civil
rights flowed directly into the Civil Rights movement which began to
develop in the 1950's and exploded in the 1960's. Booker T. today is
associated, perhaps unfairly, with the selfhelp/colorblind/Republican/Clarence Thomas/Thomas Sowell wing of the
black community and its leaders. The Nation of Islam and Maulana
Karenga's Afrocentrism derive too from this strand out of Booker T.'s
philosophy. However, the latter advocated withdrawal from the mainstream
in the name of economic advancement.
(http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/race/etc/road.html)
NAME:
DATE:
PERIOD:
HISTORY OF AMERICAN EDUCATION DOCUMENT QUEST
Answer the following questions based on the 6 documents provided in class. Be sure to indicate the
title of your source in the column to the right. Use complete sentences!
Question:
1. What subjects were taught in the Colonial Period of American
Education?
2. What was the difference between education for young boys and
young girls during the Colonial Period?
3. What languages did students study if they were lucky enough to get
an education?
4. Who was allowed an education during the Colonial Period?
5. Where did Dame Schools get their name?
6. How did the Law of 1642 Change Massachusetts’ education?
7. What was the Old Deluder Satan Act? Explain its significance.
8. What could Massachusetts do to parents if they did not send their
children to school?
Source:
9. What evidence is there that school became a priority after 1647?
10. What is a hornbook? How was it used?
11. What helped to make learning basic reading and writing easier?
12. What did students use to keep ink from blotting or smudging as
they wrote?
13. How were girls expected to spend their time?
14. How did boys learn job skills?
15. Why was Horace Mann called the Father of the Common School?
16. Where did Horace Mann’s belief in the Common School come
from?
17. Name one thing that Horace Mann did to benefit education?
18. What things did John Dewey value in education?
19. What were the fears of Dewey’s critics?
20. What opportunities existed for African Americans in early American
education?
21. How did education change for African Americans in the 1950s?
22. What were the goals of Native American education?
23. What educational opportunities were available to Hispanics and in
what ways did education change in the 1960s?
24. When did women begin to attend college? When did the
attendance in college reach equality with men?
25. What was W.E.B. Du Bois’ background?
26. What was Booker T. Washington’s background?
27. Explain the ways Booker T. Washington and W.E.B Du Bois
agreed.
28. Explain the ways Booker T. Washington and W.E.B Du Bois
disagreed.